And the victorious dead shall rise!
by plainkidsister
Summary: McCoy/Chapel. Zombies invade the Enterprise. This is my Bones/Chapel mini-epic!
1. chapter one

**note:** this is my only real "big bang" which probably won't be terribly long. it's from a prompt at st_xi_kink.

**warnings: **cursing, gore, minor sexytimes

**disclaimer:** i don't own these characters but the plot is all original. i also am not a zombie aficionado so don't judge my space zombies.

* * *

McCoy knows something's amiss when he beams back on board and it's dark, the only light filtering from the tiny transporter pads surrounding him. He doesn't see anyone immediately but something makes a noise near the control panel and he barks, "Scotty?"

The last person he would ever suspect to be here, in this moment, beaming him back aboard is standing in front of him. Her cheeks are pale and he sees a sheen of sweat across her chin and forehead; Chapel's hands are wringing themselves furiously, like she's just made a mistake on the duty rosters or medical inventory and he puts his hands on his hips.

"Where the hell is Scotty?" He steps off the pad and adjusts the landing pack situated on his waist. "And what did you do?"

She laughs nervously and flinches when he moves a little more toward her, tilting his head so she knows he's not in a mood to play games. "Um," she stutters a bit but finds a little strength, "something…bad has happened."

His face twists into annoyance and anger and she hurries her next words. "Everyone's…well, they're sick."

"And what? We ran out of band-aids and kisses?" he replies with a snort and moves to the control panel to switch on some light in the room so he can see where's he's headed. His attempts fail and he feels Chapel directly behind him, trying not to crowd his space but she's not doing a very good job. He whips around and she jumps, her brow firm with frustration. He knows the look well. "What the hell is going on, Chapel? If Jim Kirk put you up to something, I swear to God I'll –"

"No." She says this firmly and he stills, recognizing the serious nurse tone she's taken with him, the kind that she reserves for bad news and disciplinary meetings with her nurses. She takes a shuddering breath. "Now, take me seriously when I say this but I think we have a case of _mortuos viventes_."

He rolls his eyes. "English, Chapel!"

"Zombies." She's says the words so calmly, so seriously that he almost feels bad when he bursts into laughter at her explanation. _Almost_. She looks like she could rip him apart and he wipes his eyes with his tunic sleeve because she's actually suggesting they have the living dead aboard their starship. In space. Light years from earth.

"Have you been drinking?" he asks incredulously and she steps away, arms across her chest.

"McCoy I wish you would stop laughing and just –"

"What? Believe that there are zombies on this ship and we've been spared?"

She huffs. "Well, maybe it's because you weren't onboard and maybe I have an immunity to the disease –"

McCoy only laughs again, his bangs falling in his eyes. "I swear to God, Chapel, you are the most gullible person I have ever met."

"Am not." She lifts her chin in defiance and he raises his brows.

"Oh really? Remember that time Sulu came in with an arrow in the stomach and you thought he'd traveled back in time to fight Robin Hood?"

She sighs. "The arrow made sense in the context of the wound–"

"Oh, and when Jim told you he had three hours to live and I prescribed 'sexual healing' as a cure?"

"That was only because he did such a convincing job of forging your signature –" She's got an accusatory finger pointed in his direction and he pushes it aside like she's his daughter having a hissy fit because she can't get ice cream. Her hands slide firmly to her hips and she straightens up. McCoy smirks at her determination, his hair still flopping boyishly in his face. She's made up her mind about something.

He follows her toward the exit and she spins around.

"Fine. I'll show you. And remember that you called me 'gullible'." She leads him down the darkened hallway and he notices they're suspiciously empty, lights flickering on and off as he passes sections of engineering. They ride to turbolift to the entrance to sickbay and he stops dead in his tracks.

There is moaning, loud and reverberating off the walls outside of sickbay and thumping against the controlled doors. Chapel is staring at him now, waiting for his reaction but he only steps closer to the noise. He presses his ear against the door and something hard slams against it, knocking him back into Chapel who catches him firmly. He can hear her breath coming in pants and her eyes are locked on his.

"You believe me now?"


	2. chapter two

**warnings:** language, suggestive stuff.

**disclaimer:** do not own characters! but the plot is original. unbeta'd. this chapel is a little OOC from the rest of my canon. but she's the b-movie blonde in this one. she's still a BAMF though.*\

_reviews are always loved. but i'm guilty of reading, loving, and not reviewing so i can't judge!_

* * *

McCoy gets to his feet with the help of the nurse and he merely stares at the door, contemplating his…no, _their_ next move. Chapel is still panting behind him and he turns to her, lips pursing in thought.

"Okay, y-you've thought about this," he says, slightly nervous, "what should we do?"

She nods somewhat confidently. "Well, I've managed to figure out what kinds of medications we could use to subdue them –" but she's interrupted but a loud crack and they turn around to see the doors are being slowly pried open by hands.

Without thinking, McCoy grabs her hand and they run, feet echoing down the darkness of the hallway. He turns his head back enough so he can talk to her. "So, what medications?"

"An," she starts to pant heavily, "antipsychotic…that will…put them at bay…" He pulls them into an open turbo lift and the doors close and he stops the lift from going up, pressing a button on the panel. Chapel slumps against the wall, catching her breath and tucks her legs in a very lady-like way under her rear. McCoy closes his eyes and shakes his head; if this is a nightmare, he should probably wake up now.

Now.

No, _now_.

He hears Chapel move behind him and she's tugging lightly on his landing pack. He jerks away and asks, "Damnit, what do you need?"

"A snack?" She manages to grin a little and he rolls his eyes, sneering his lip. She shrinks away and nibbles on her thumb in thought and he slides down to the floor of the lift. She suddenly gets closer to him, her breasts rubbing his arm ever so slightly and her eyes bright with a freshly discovered idea. "Okay, if we can get to the main storage unit at the back of sickbay, we have enough emergency hyposprays to inoculate everyone."

McCoy takes a moment to chew on this and he nods. "Okay. How many inoculations are we talking? 20? 40?" He stands and readies himself, ignoring the cringe Chapel's face displays when she knows she's going to make him angry. It makes her own heart flutter impatiently and he turns around. "Well?"

"Um, er, it's more like 400." She stands quickly and prepares for the worst.

"Four hun-" he begins angrily but stops because she's going to get hysterical if he loses his cool. He tries again. "Okay, what about the senior crew?"

"Well, I think they were the first to get infected."

"Scotty?"

"He's definitely one."

"Spock?"

"Still stoic, but yes, a zombie."

"Uhura?"

"She's still as pretty as ever but I guess, as pretty as the living dead _can_ look –"

"And Jim?"

She cringes a little. "I think he brings new meaning to the term 'necrophiliac'."

McCoy squirms and Chapel touches his arm affectionately. "It's all going to be okay –"

"Damnit, Chapel, we're on a _spaceship_ filled with _zombies_ in the middle of _space,_" he leans in closer to her face to stress his point, "I don't think it's going to be _okay_!"

She giggles a little. "Of course we're on a spaceship, silly, if we're in _space_."

"Oh Jesus Christ," he groans and her features straighten up when he shoots her a hard look. Turning around, he paces the lift, index finger caressing his upper lip in thought, right arm tucked into his body. She pushes herself up and smoothes out her skirt to pass the time and he stops abruptly.

"There's a special entrance through Deck Eight down into the back of the storage unit." He steps to her and she chews on her lip in thought. "We'll take the lift up and then find our way through the wiring in the secondary core room and downstairs."

"Fine, but we don't have any phasers or anything –"

"Don't need them." He smiles a little. "Zombies are supposed to be slow."

They ride up in silence and when the lift chimes open, he takes a tentative step out. The lights are glowing dimly on this deck, the _Enterprise_ humming soundly below their feet and McCoy tugs Chapel out of the lift when she lingers a little too long. She's paler than normal and her hands are balled into tight fists and she walks, wobbling a bit, in her bright white work boots toward him, clutching his tunic fiercely. He moves fluidly down the hall and she sticks close, jumping at the crashing of a loose piece of a control panel right next to them.

"Be quiet!" McCoy hushes her fiercely and she covers her mouth, just after she notices a slimy hand crawling over her boot. She screams, crashes into McCoy, who scoops her up as he scrambles to get away from the red-shirted semi-human who is now crawling toward them, a piece of metal in his head. Chapel is whimpering and McCoy puts her down as they round the corner but she stays close to him.

"It touched me!" She cries a little and McCoy shakes her.

"Man up, Chapel! No time for your blubbering." He looks around the next corner and sees the exit hatch he intends to open and climb down. She is just hiccupping now, trying to hold down her fits and takes a deep breath. He turns to her. "Okay, you see that hatch?"

She nods and he continues. "We're going to climb down it." He eyes her outfit: "Take the skirt, the boots, and the tunic off."

"I'll be almost naked!" She gasps loudly and he brings a hand harshly to her mouth to close it.

"You've got your undershirt on and the leggings. You'll be fine."

She discards the clothing and follows him to the hatch, climbing down after him and closing the hatch door.

McCoy didn't factor in the darkness that usually accompanies small enclosed spaces and stills on the ladder. He looks up to try and see how far she is above him but abandons the act when all he sees is black, even when his head is tilted back all the way.

"Chap-" He's quickly quieted by her rear onto his head and he makes the mistake of opening his mouth again to tell her to get off. But it only makes the situation more awkward when she sighs and grinds down just a little.

"_Chapelgetoff_!" He shouts loud enough to rattle the metal around them and she squeaks, stepping up one rung and he vows to write something about sexual harassment in her file.

The stirring deep in his groin tells him not to.

He descends lower and manages to use some of the light peeking out of another hatch to read the information panels on each exit to see where he is. He directs Chapel, telling her to 'stop' and 'go' and 'don't fucking move' because he hears moaning around them. Damnit, the zombies are out and now wandering around the decks in the sector, looking for brains. McCoy likes his too much to have it ripped out and he knows Chapel enjoys her perky little mind as well, even if it is filled with mostly useless information that doesn't even pertain to survival situations. The woman's a medical genius but can't access instinct behind all that knowledge.

He shoves the exit door open and leaps down, landing sturdily on his feet and looks up.

"Is it clear?" Chapel's tiny voice echoes in the darkness of the tunnel and he calls up for her to jump. She does so and the good thing is that McCoy catches her but the bad thing is now his back is flat against the floor and feels like it's been shattered into a thousand pieces. She crawls off him quickly and he doesn't move.

"Fuck, I'm old." McCoy's eyes are watering just a bit and Chapel leans over him.

"Move just a little bit," she coaxes and he opens his eyes to that perfect little cleft between her breasts and her blonde hair falling onto his neck and really hopes he's just been killed and is now in limbo where Chapel is still leaning over him, but it's acceptable to nip her collarbone because he's dead and not responsible for his actions. When pain rockets through his back again, he _knows_ he's not dead.

And he's really got to stop going so hot and cold with his feelings for his nurse but that would take admitting he really likes her and that's not professional.

Chapel is being gentle, placing a hand behind his neck to cushion it and whispers, "You think we can move you?"

McCoy grumbles, "I'm fine," and sits up tenderly, causing her to rock back onto her haunches and sigh. He tries his best to get the kink out of his back but fails, gingerly standing and brushing off his pants. Chapel follows and brushes off her shirt. McCoy shoves open the back door to the main storage unit with a painful grunt and finds that it hasn't been touched, everything neatly packed away like it would be if most of crew weren't flesh-eating slugs.

Chapel searches for the emergency hyposprays and McCoy rests a little on an extra biobed, taking off his landing pack and checking his body for wounds. He's got bruises coming in from the fall and a few scratches on his arms from Chapel's nails. He looks up to see Chapel armed with a fresh hypospray and she wiggles it.

"Let's get to it, Doc!"


	3. chapter three

McCoy moves himself to the pharmaceutical cabinet and rummages around for a minute before noticing the nice, pink labels on each shelf. He assumes Chapel has been in here, probably doing inventory when they've been docked, labeling everything according to its properties – analgesic, diuretic, antiviral, etc. He sees the antipsychotics tucked behind the morphine injections and reaches for them, his back muscles angry with him as he grasps a few vials and comes off of his tip-toes. Each vial is large enough to dose ten people and now he's grateful for the excess orders they're always ending up with. Starfleet hates the bill and McCoy hates the paperwork but he knows he'll never complain again. He hands to vials to Chapel, who inserts them neatly into two hyposprays and he pockets the extra vials.

"So, what's the plan?" She is sitting on the biobed now, swinging her legs like a schoolgirl, and he presses his lips into a hard line in annoyance, more with his lack of "the plan" than with her innocence. But his back aches and he's hungry and Chapel's just so damn content it makes him uncomfortable so he says:

"We're going out."

"Now?" She looks surprised and he tilts his head in a condescending way that stills her immediately. She makes a zipping and locking motion over her mouth with one hand and tucks it close to her side.

"You're going to stay behind me and we're going to dose as many - " he searches for the right word, "_things_ as we can. They'll be sedated for a little bit and maybe we can triage them." He steadies her shoulders. "Don't wander off."

"No, _no_, Dr. McCoy."

"Oh, shut –" he brushes her off and then turns around to open the door. He's got a hypospray in his firm grip and he's sweating terribly, drops running down his sideburns and jaw and he swipes it away nervously. Chapel is doing the heavy breathing thing behind him and he reaches back to make her be quiet.

Sickbay is dimly lit, thing strewn mindlessly across the floor and McCoy steps over a broken tricorder and cringes – that's money those things have cost him and he just tightens his hold on his makeshift weapon. It's silent, lights flickering and somewhere in the distance a fan is whirring with a dented blade, metal scraping metal. McCoy tries to focus but can't and relaxes a bit to clear his head. His back stops yelling at him and Chapel is quiet, too quiet behind him.

He then hears scrambling and yelling and swivels around to see Chapel fighting with a zombie version of the kid, Chekov, one hand managing to keep his teeth from her neck and the other frantically waving the hypospray in the air. McCoy takes off toward them and pierces the teen with his hypospray, watching the body slump and then fall onto the floor. He looks up at Chapel who is as white as a ghost and she swallows hard, looking down at the boy.

"He just came out of nowhere and grabbed me." Her voice is rough from the hand that's been around her throat and McCoy nods, leaning down to observe the sedated body. He's peaceful and McCoy can see where he's been tearing at his own flesh from madness. His skin is turning an odd shade, from pasty to pink and McCoy can't believe it when he steps back.

The kid is back to normal. Chapel tugs on his sleeve and he mumbles, "I see," and they both watch as the young man stays lifeless on the floor, absolutely human except for the dirty rags he once called a uniform.

McCoy turns to his nurse who smiles and laughs giddily, surprising him by kissing his mouth firmly in excitement. She pales when he scowls but presses a hand to her lips, a smirk hiding behind the red fingernails.

"C'mon," he grabs her roughly by the hand, "let's find the rest of these bastards."

"But what about –"

"He's fine," McCoy cuts her off, pulling her along, "he should be out for an hour or two." She stays silent and he only makes it few steps before he hears groans in the distance. They wait for the noisy bodies but are surprised when none appear. McCoy takes a hesitant step forward and is soundly struck on the head by a hard object, going face first into the ground. Chapel screams and his vision is blurred but he feels the warm trickle of blood across his ear. He tries to speak but he can only hear a muffled cry from what he assumes is Chapel, clad in off-white and to his left. Something collapses next to him and he does his best to focus on it, try to figure it out but his vision is slowly dimming and his hearing is going as well.

Everything silences for a moment and he lets out a long breath before nodding off.

-

Chapel kneels next to the blood pooling by the unconscious McCoy and feels tears prick her eyes as she presses a firm hand to the wound, trying to still the bleeding. She can see a few of the zombies lumbering in the distance and she removes a blood-slick hand from its current position to grip her hypospray. McCoy twitches slightly and she looks around for something cloth, something that will make due for a bandage before he bleeds out. She finds an upturned medkit, packets of gauze spilling out from the sides. She tears the packages open with her teeth and wraps his head, cradling it in her hands until she can maneuver him into her lap. He's stoic and she passes a soiled hand over his cheek to test his flesh. It's warm, soft against her sticky fingers and she almost forgets her fear as she hoists him higher into her arms and they settle in an enclosed corner. It's quiet and the zombies must've found someone else to harass because they haven't found them. The hypospray rolls away from Chapel as she closes her eyes, clutching her boss and drifting off into a slumber.

A cool hand jerks her awake and she screams a little, pulling away from the touch. The still McCoy shifts in her grasp and a voice mutters, "Nurse Che-pel?"

The Russian looks at her with wide, beautiful eyes and she can't help but smile at him, rubbing an errant hand against McCoy. The kid is gauging her and then looks at the doctor; she watches his face go wide in concern and she rasps, "He needs to be put on a bed."

"Are you alright?" The boy gazes at her and she nods, trying to stand with her arms slung under McCoy's armpits. They hoist him up and onto an abandoned biobed, his head lolling to the side. Chapel wheels him into the storage unit they had just inhabited minutes before and shuts the door, turning back to the ensign. He looks frazzled and she puts a soft hand on his shoulder and lifts up a hypospray. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"Not really."

She teaches him and he follows behind her, cradling the new tool in his palm and knees wobbling. He's asking her questions about the zombies and she answers him in clipped tones, trying to be brave for McCoy. He got her this far, the least she can do is cure a few more medical personnel so they can get to sealing that wound.

They find most of the nurses and junior doctors in a storage unit on Deck K, where they've been locked up. She's efficient and doses most of them, with Chekov fumbling around behind her with an older nurse, who's got a death grip on his arm. Chapel chuckles a little at the exchange until the woman leans toward him, teeth bared and she decided to save the kid from his misery. They leave the sedated personnel in the unit and move on to find the Captain and everyone else.

They are creeping down a hall, Chekov trembling in front of her, when a flash of light reflects off a large control panel that's been broken off; Chapel jumps and spins around.

"Nurse Chapel? Ensign Chekov?" She recognizes Dr. M'Benga's kind voice and she wants to cry with relief, collapsing on the hard floor. She manages to tell him where McCoy is as she's being carted by a handful of biochemists and they deposit her on a bed, rushing to the storage unit and wheeling McCoy out. One recovering nurse tends to her and Chapel doesn't realize she's tired until the woman suggests she lay down. The lights lower dimly and Chapel closes her eyes.

It's a day before Chapel knows about McCoy: he's been stitched up and a tricorder has deemed him clean except for the wound and minor brain damage. M'Benga is troubled by the slight bruising to the brain, creating complications with his sight but he keeps McCoy sedated, to keep the pain at bay and partly because he doesn't want to deal with post-trauma McCoy. Chapel keeps vigil by his bedside and watches him sleep, his chest moving slowly up and down and his fingers moving ever so slightly. She brings him uneaten food and cold water that warm to room temperature when he doesn't wake.

M'Benga suggests that she take a few days to herself but she refuses, preferring to be close to McCoy in case they decided to bring him back. She makes of note of all the visitors that drift in and out of his curtain, even the Captain who touches Chapel's shoulder ever so briefly. She's always been confused by his tactics, the slight touches and the smiles he gives her like they're friends. McCoy is their only tie and Chapel has a sneaking suspicion that's the reason the Captain gives her these small acknowledgements.

She cries a little when she realizes half of his hair is gone, his nape to the middle of his head shaved for the stitches. It's hair and it will grow back, she rationalizes, but the tears don't stop. She can't figure out why.

It's six days after the zombies are gone when M'Benga takes McCoy off sedation and Chapel stands in the corner, quietly, as he opens his eyes.

He awakens to the beeping of a familiar machine and the faint light of what he assumes is heaven above him. He moves a bit and feels the rough material of regulation sickbay sheets against his arms and hands and then tries to open his eyes. He sees nothing but blurs of objects and he rustles his hand just a little more to find he's been hooked up to tubes.

Heaven doesn't have these sheets or tubes. Or so he thinks.

Something swishes to his right and he jerks his head in its direction to try to make out the blurred form; he deduces it's a nurse from the brightness of the white uniform and closes his eyes.

"Doctor McCoy?" Chapel's voice is sandpaper-rough, like she's been crying, and he manages a small grunt. His throat feels dry and aches, and she presses a cup against his lips. He drinks greedily and feels a hand on his cheek. It's cool and feels good so he leans into it heavily. A small sound escapes her mouth and she whispers, "You want more water?"

He nods and she's back within a second with another glass. He downs it and she removes her hand to adjust something. He tries out his voice. "What – Chekov – zomb-"

She presses fingers across his lips and replies, "Everything's fine."

Days later, he comes to find out after he passed out, she and Chekov had ventured on until the rest of the uninfected had found them, dirty and scared. No one really knew how they'd contracted the disease; some of Spock's scientists believed it was transferred from one planet to another dermally. Since bridge officers are always brushing against or touching each other in professional exchanges, they contracted it first then bit other crew members. Samples of blood were sent to the scientists and they paid special attention to his and Chapel's contribution. Chapel joked about her immunity but the scientists' never broke into a grin. McCoy only rolled his eyes _again_ at the suggestion.

McCoy is up and walking in a few days' time, his vision still lacking but Chapel sticks beside him. He can tell she's tired and she kind of smells but he says nothing, only lets her help him hobble around with his cane. His back is still hurting and there are nice plump stitches on the crest of his occipital bone; Jim jokes that the back of his shaved head makes him look like a dog just back from having his balls chopped off but Chapel raises a fist that shuts him up. She runs fingers through his hair when he's having trouble sleeping and he can hear everyone whispering that their fucking when no one's around sickbay. If Chapel hears then she doesn't show it because she just keeps humming and he bites back the urge to push her away for babying him so much. She's a nurse and she likes him, so he lets her get away with it.

He has enough time to think about zombies while he's waiting for his eyesight to recover. Zombies, he thinks, fucking zombies on the Enterprise and everyone's milling around like they weren't craving brains a week ago. The First Commanding Officer informed him that only Decks E-P were affected and everyone else was cut off by emergency lockdown, too scared to override and venture out into the infected part of the ship. "Because everyone's got shit for brains!" McCoy exclaims and Chapel tries her best to muffle her laughter when Spock shows a mild annoyance at the doctor's words and excuses himself. She scolds him mildly but only lets out her laughter when he's out of earshot but he smiles because he can still hear her.

Jim Kirk visits him after he's cleared for all guests and they sit silently before Jim says, "Bones, you think I did this?"

McCoy's caught off-guard a bit and adjusts himself in the bed. "I…don't know. It was a transdermal infection from the landing party. There were five people along with you -"

"But," Kirk sighs, "I just have a feeling I caused this." The kid is kicking his feet while they hang off the biobed and McCoy smirks when it reminds him of his Head Nurse. He can't really fault Jim for being guilty because most of the medical mishaps that come through his sickbay are normally caused by the Captain and his space shenanigans. But he won't blame Jim Kirk for this, even if he is suspiciously involved.

"Don't feel guilty. It could've been anyone in that landing party." McCoy scratches the back of his neck and laments the lack of hair there. Jim stands up from the bed and smoothes out his uniform but his face is sad and downtrodden. McCoy groans and Jim looks up.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I just hate that damn look on your face!" McCoy sighs and rubs his forehead. "It wasn't you, I'm sure of it."

Jim cocks a brow high. "How do you know?"

"Because -" McCoy can't think of a quick enough lie so he settles for, "Spock looks so damn guilty, it's embarrassing."

"He looks guilty?" So Jim isn't really buying it but McCoy's head hurts and he continues.

"Well, yeah, he does. All that meditating and shit…everyone knows Vulcans are more susceptible to off-world diseases."

Jim raises both brows now, content with believing that. "Wow. They are?"

McCoy grumbles an answer and Jim approaches the bed, patting his friend on the knee. They have these moments, McCoy muses, where Jim is infinitely more wise in his silence and they don't have to say anything to say the most. In the moments when they first met, Jim's first drunken secrets, after Delta Vega and Spock, even when Jim's last birthday had rolled around and someone mentioned the Kelvin, the two men had their best moments when they just sat in silence, looking at each other. They look at each other for a full minute before someone enters and makes a surprised noise and excuses herself. Jim calls after her, "Nurse Chapel! I was just leaving!"

Chapel reenters with some food and Jim smiles at her on his way out, taking a quick look at the two and grinning to himself.


End file.
